This invention relates to a method and system for processing calls by proxy, and, more particularly, for processing emergency calls by proxy. While the invention is particularly directed to the art of telecommunications, and will be thus described with specific reference thereto, it will be appreciated that the invention may have usefulness in other fields and applications.
By way of background, many countries have developed special dialing codes for making emergency calls. For example, “911” is the official national emergency number in the United States and Canada. Dialing 911 quickly connects the caller to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) dispatcher trained to route the call to local emergency medical, fire, and law enforcement agencies. Most 911 systems now automatically report the telephone number and location of 911 calls made from landline phones, a capability called Enhanced 911 or E911. The FCC has also established a program requiring wireless telephone carriers to provide E911 capability. When fully implemented, wireless E911 will provide the precise location of 911 calls from wireless phones.
However, the current 911 system does not generally allow for calls by proxy. For instance, let us assume that Party A is talking to Party B, an elderly grandparent living far away. During the conversation, B falls down and cannot get up. It would not be easy for A to call the 911 emergency service associated with B's telephone number, without knowing something about B's local public safety answering point (PSAP).
Mobile Extension/DN Extension capabilities provided by Feature Server 5000 (FS5K) from Alcatel-Lucent provide a generalized mechanism to a mobile user whose mobile DN is kept private to receive Service from a “desk DN” served by the FS5K. The Desk DN serves as the user's public identity, and all calls placed by the mobile appear to have originated from the public Desk DN, and are in fact relayed through the serving FS 5000. This essentially lets the (private) mobile DN (A) assume the (public) Desk DN identity (B). Note, though, that there is a provisioned data relationship between the desk DN and the Mobile DN. Also, the “A assuming B's identity” treatment is explicitly not applied to emergency calls, so that if a circuit mobile extension phone dials 911, it is treated strictly as a cellular 911 call (A cannot pretend to be dialing 911 from B's desk).
Additionally, burglar alarm companies such as ADT allow a third party to call emergency services on behalf of a served client, when the burglar alarm reports an intruder to their Monitoring Center.
In regard to burglar alarm companies like ADT, those systems work by having the Monitoring Center contact the appropriate emergency authority, but not by calling 911. When an emergency occurs, the Monitoring Center will use a direct-dial number associated with the served client in a pre-existing database. Thus, there is a pre-existing prepared-for-emergencies relationship between the served party and the party calling the emergency authorities.
Thus, there is a need for a new and improved apparatus that completes a call to the appropriate 911 call center for B, regardless of whether the original call from A to B is still active or if the call was cut off when B fell down. Such a service would allow A—who has motivation and potentially detailed knowledge relating to B—to help by contacting and talking to an appropriate emergency operator. This can be of particular value if B is unable to do so.
The present invention assumes no prior association between Party A and Party B. In the Mobile Extension case, the Mobile DN and the Desk DN “belong” to the same user. In contrast, the present invention allows one to place a call, such as an emergency call, by proxy on behalf of someone who cannot do so. The present invention specifically identifies both parties of the Proxy 911 call.